Location Data: The Future Is Now?

We are living in a time where “data” has become the new oil, a highly valuable asset for many businesses. The amount of data available will continue to expand as new and emerging technologies like smartphones and IOT connected devices grow exponentially. Data holds the power to transform every aspect of a business. According to the International Institute for Analytics, businesses using data will see $430 billion in productivity benefits over their competition not using data by 2020.

So what does this all mean?

Well, it means that the benefits and business demand for data has never been greater. Let’s take a look at the next wave of the data revolution, specifically the power of location. There are many different definitions for this data but in its simplest form, location data allows businesses to glean actionable insights about real-world consumer behaviors and trends in the offline world. The demand for this type of data has skyrocketed over the last year, according to a recent market research report published in October 2016 by MarketsandMarkets, the Location Analytics Market is projected to be worth over $16 Billion dollars by 2021.

There’s a huge opportunity for all industries to exploit location data to either create a competitive advantage or make better informed business decisions. In a recent Forbes Insights report, The Power of Place: How Location Intelligence Reveals Opportunity in Big Data, it gives an in depth analysis on location data and on how it provides a brand new way to unlock actionable insights. Businesses can’t afford to ignore the power of location anymore. The benefits of location data are becoming increasingly more important for brands, marketers and researchers across multiple industries.

As the demand for location data continues to grow in the marketplace, new and emerging location based tools will flood the market. Advertisers will need location data to help them bridge the gap between online and offline worlds. However, partners beyond advertising will be looking for an accurate and precise source of location data as well. Clients across a wide variety of other verticals such as Finance, Retail & Real Estate & Transportation are just a few industries that will benefit from location data. Learn more about these industries in Part II of the series Location Data: The Future Is Now? We will take a deep dive into these industries to discover why location data is so valuable and how it is being used to generate actionable insights.